Chairs and furniture of today are not quite the same as they were centuries ago. Seating is available for use by everyone in homes, businesses, and schools but the known history of furniture tells that this was not always the case. When chairs first started being used it was not necessarily for the ordinary uses as it is today. Then, chairs were used as an emblem of authority or a state of dignity. The chair did not become common anywhere until the 16^th century. Items such as chests, benches, and stools were considered the ordinary seating. It is very rare to find a chair from the days of its original use and what can be found is created from sculptures, paintings, and monuments.

Ancient Egypt furniture was constructed to represent more natural forms instead of making them artificial. They used carved wood and they covered them with expensive materials which representations of figures of their captives. For instance, monuments from ancient Egypt depict chairs with no back but having legs that were carved. At the foot of the chair there would typically be designed having the claws of a lion or hooves of a bull. Egyptians believed that by creating furnishings of such natural forms would make the universe less chaotic.

The earliest Greek furniture was constructed having thick-turned legs and a bar-back. It also had winged sphinxes and breasts for legs. Roman chairs also had winged sphinxes but they were constructed of marble materials. One of the most famous chairs from this time is the chair of St. Peter in St. Peters Basilica in Rome. The chair of Maximilian is constructed of marble and has a high back. It also contains scenes from the gospels and figures of saints. In the smaller spaces carvings of flowers, birds, and animals can be found. One of the oldest cathedra still in use today is the chair of St. Augustine.

The seating for the Han Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Tai Kadai, and Turkic cultures was simply the floor or a sitting mat. During the Tang Dynasty many cultural exchanges began to happen and a mobile folding stool began to develop into something more stable with a high back. At first these chairs were only used by the Chinese elite but spread to being used by every level of society. In Europe during the Renaissance period, chairs were being used by anyone that could afford to purchase them and not just by those considered to be in a privileged state. In all countries the choice of construction for chairs was timber and they had no upholstery until the middle of the 17^th century.

Once using upholstery for furnishings became more popular leather was used but silk and velvet were more popular fabric choices. Eventually more durable fabrics were beginning to be used. In the Tudor period France began making their mark on their brand of furnishings. The most decorative of this period was made popular by the cavaliers in England. The arms and legs were scrolled. The back was very rich in arraignment with scrolls and spirals as well. The chairs became more rectangular shaped and stiffer during the reign of William and Mary and had a cabriole leg and pad feet. The Chippendale chair was developed from this form of chair with interlaced backs, arms, and square legs with no clawed or padded feet.

The upright sitting chair was replaced with more reclining back chairs in the 1700�۪s by Paris. They were upholstered and on removable frames which were secured by clips so they could be changed with the seasons. French fashions radiated from Paris as did most seating. Louis XV chairs were constructed having no stretchers. By the late 1760�۪s Parisian neoclassical chairs were being made. They had straight tapered, fluted legs. A block at the seat at the seat rail joined them together and the style was characterized by architectural moldings. The 18^th century is considered the golden age of the chair especially in places such as England and France.

Native American furniture was almost obsolete. Their homes were tents or wigwams and young saplings were set in the ground in order to form a circle. The flexible ends were tied together for framework and then covered with skins or bark. If a fire was needed it was created inside the circular structure on the ground. Typically piles of leaved which were covered in straw which served as bedding. In most cases this housing only served as sleeping accommodations. Native Americans did most of the living outside.

African-Americans played a big role in building furniture in the United States. Thomas Day was born in 1801 to a free African-American mother. He moved to Virginia in 1823 and became a well respected furniture craftsman. He constructed pews of walnut, pine, and yellow poplar that had curved arms for a church in North Carolina in exchange for his family to sit in an area meant for white�۪s only. He designed all types of furniture from cabinets to bed frames which can still be found on display today.

By the 19^th century chairs were simplistic. During the Arts and Crafts movement chairs were kept minimal in ornamental decorations and they were straight-lined. The most famous of these chairs, the bistro chair, is still being constructed today. Construction of furniture in the 20^th century brought about the use of a lot of modern technology. All metal folding chairs, beanbag chairs, chairs of molded plastic, reclining chairs, massage chairs, and ergonomically designed chairs are all types of seating found today. As the world continues to evolve so do all things in it. People, places, and even furnishings have continued to improve.